A slot is a dynamic placeholder that either waits for content (passive slot) or calls out for it from a scenario (active slot). A slot works in tandem with scenarios and renderers to deliver the content on your website.
Noun 1. A slit or other narrow opening, especially one for receiving something, as a coin or letter. 2. A period of time or position within a schedule or sequence, as in I booked your haircut for the 2 pm slot.
3. In gambling, a device with rotating reels that pays out winning combinations of symbols according to its paytable. The probability of hitting certain combinations is based on the number of active paylines and the type of symbol being played. A basic strategy involves seeking out machines with the highest return-to-player percentage, as this indicates that the machine has paid out more often than it has lost.
4. In a video game, a mechanism that ensures fairness and unpredictability by generating random numbers. A working RNG is essential to any slots machine, as it prevents strategies based on previous outcomes from being effective.
A slot can also refer to a position in the line-up of players on a sports team, or to an open position in the lineup of a musical group. The term is also used to describe the space between the face-off circles on an ice hockey rink. These examples have been programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘slot’.